


Unhappy Holidays

by Veresiine



Category: World of Warcraft
Genre: Ableism, Gen, Humor, Rated M for probleMatic elves, Really it's just Verk and Tel driving up the rating with their crap, Strong Language, and some sexual themes, making light of horrific violence
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-12-03
Updated: 2018-12-03
Packaged: 2019-09-06 02:42:47
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,554
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16823518
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Veresiine/pseuds/Veresiine
Summary: Over 4000 words of pure, unfiltered garbage and sass.All OCs all the time for a combined holiday dinner and secret greatfather winter gift exchange. Or, a very tired draenei priest tries in vain to get six murderhobos to sit down and eat a meal together without trying to kill each other.





	Unhappy Holidays

After setting the last dish on the table, Eresiine took a seat in her chair, and looked around the table at the assembled group.

  
Rataalis had, of course, insisted upon sitting at her right. His posture and expression were stiff and straight, but she could see his tail swishing back and forth out of the corners of her eyes. A meticulously wrapped but oddly shaped package rested in front of him.

  
Revenis sat to Rataalis's right, and was leaned back far enough in his chair that Eresiine feared the chair would either tip over or break. She had told him to stop doing that too many times over the years, so she simply resigned herself to the fact that one day she would have to tell him "I told you so" as she healed his bruises. The gift in front of him was very clearly a hardcover book of some sort.

  
Next around the table was Verkira, who had placed one hand on the back of Revenis's chair. Eresiine doubted it would help if the chair happened to tip over; Verk was strong, but she was also about a quarter of Revenis's size. Eresiine wasn't quite sure what gift Verk had brought, but it was small and rectangular. She, Rataalis, and Revenis were complaining about the smithy _again_. Eresiine was beginning to think that 'the smithy' was less of an individual person and more of an amalgamation of traits the three paladins hated that came from a number of separate people.

  
Marelan was sitting to Verkira's right, and was carefully cradling -- Eresiine rubbed her eyes and blinked. Nope. Still there. That was definitely a Thalassian lynx with a red bow attached to its collar. The lynx seemed to be kneading his arm, presumably with claws out, but Marelan barely flinched. He seemed preoccupied with a heated conversion -- in Demonic, no less! -- with Telaina, who was sitting next to him. _Marelan, I thought you were supposed to be the sensible one!_

  
Telaina didn't appear to have brought a gift, but, knowing her, Eresiine suspected she had either stashed it on her person somewhere or would be summoning it in when the time came.

  
Finally, Quendri sat between Telaina and Eresiine. She was doodling in a small notebook with a crayon. Eresiine tried not to look too closely at what she was working on; she knew that Quendri hated it when people looked over her shoulder. Eresiine wasn't quite sure what gift Quendri had brought, but since she had asked Eresiine to send a payment to a Stormwind based weapons shop a few weeks ago, that narrowed down the possibilities quite a bit.

  
So, that was everyone who would be able to make it tonight. Eresiine struck her glass with a spoon. Six heads turned to face her.

  
"May I have everyone's attention please?" She asked.

  
"Eres, it's a small room. You can't _not_ have our attention after making our ears hurt like that," Tel said, wincing and rubbing her ear.

  
"Oh, come on. It wasn't _that_ loud. Were you drinking again last night?" Verkira asked. _We're off to a great start..._

  
"No, just that some of us haven't blasted out our ears too many times with failed spells and therefore still have the sensitivity to tell when a noise is _very loud_."

  
"Funny you should say that, since I happened to take a look at your file from your time in Dalaran. Someone could make a book series with all the 'incidents' you've caused."

  
"Wait, I thought Dalaran didn't like blood elves? How'd Verk get into the archives?" Quendri asked.

  
"They probably thought she was too stupid to understand what she was reading," Rataalis grumbled.

  
"Ahem," Eresiine started, "can we get back to the matter at hand?"

  
"Please. We don't want to delay food any longer than we have to," Revenis said.

  
"Thank you, Revenis. So, we are all gathered here today in celebration of Winter's Veil, and--"

  
" 'All'? We're missing three paladins and a rogue," Quendri pointed out.

  
"It's probably for the best. We have too many paladins as it is," Tel put in.

  
"Yes, unfortunately, Orlaney, Valuora, Aelinos, and Jeztok were unable to be here tonight. They will be having their meal and presents at a later date," Eresiine explained.

  
"Aww... but I was really hoping to see Orlaney..." Quendri pouted.

  
"He'll be back tomorrow, you know," Eresiine told Quendri, then addressed the rest of the group. "Thanks to Telaina and her magic, we don't need to worry about the food getting cold, so we are going to do presents first."

  
"And you said I contributed nothing to the household," Tel told Rataalis smugly.

  
"Leave it, warlock. Why do you always insist on picking fights with me?"

  
"You started it! You threw me out of an airlock!" Tel accused.

  
"That was a over a year ago! And for the last time, the Vindicaar is a _dimensional_ ship, not a _spaceship_. That wasn't an airlock; that was an emergency exit!"

  
"Yeah, like that makes it any better!"

  
"Rataalis, we need to talk about your defenestration problem," Verk put in.

  
"It wasn't a window, either! By the naaru, you elves don't understand anything, do you!?"

  
"It doesn't really matter _what_ you threw her out of, Rataalis, the important thing is that you _did_."

  
"Marelan, don't take her side in this! I thought we were friends!"

  
" _Ahem_." Eresiine was beginning to regret organizing this. "Back to the matter at hand. As you know, we have made a few modifications to this tradition. Normally, the gifts would be anonymous, but due to the potential our group has for... nastiness... we are going to deliver the gifts to their recipient here, in person."

  
"It's bold of you to assume that lack of anonymity would dissuade us," Tel said.

  
"Oh Light, what am I in for this year?" Verk groaned.

  
"What makes you think I got a gift for _you_?"

  
"I'm your usual most-hated target, so if you have something nasty planned, it's probably for me?"

  
"Don't flatter yourself; I hate you all equally." Tel paused. "Minus Quendri, of course."

  
"After all the decades we spent together? You wound me, Tel."

  
"Is it too much to ask you two to behave for one meal?" Marelan asked.

  
"Yes," Verk immediately replied.

  
" _SO_ ," Eresiine started, feeling her patience drain away with each word out of her friends' mouths, "as I was saying, we will hand-deliver the presents. Once everyone has gotten their present, we will eat."

  
"We'll eat right away after presents? No sermon this year, Eresiine?" Revenis asked.

  
"This is a family gathering, not a religious one."

  
"That's never stopped you before!"

  
"In the past, we were usually observing draenei holidays, which have their own traditions and rituals. Winter's Veil is not one of those holidays," Rataalis pointed out. "Moreover, while they may have been informal gatherings, everyone there shared the same religion and culture... minus Onoras." Rataalis looked thoughtful. "Eresiine, you insisted on drawing out the rituals just to spite him, didn't you?" He added, quietly, so Eresiine doubted the blood elves across the table heard.

  
"I'm not that petty!" She protested.

  
"Not at first, no, but something definitely changed after your sporebat got loose in his shop and he made a shock collar for it."

  
"Speaking of Megali, where did he get off to this time?" Revenis asked.

  
"My mothe-- Teariina is looking after him for now." It still hurt. Of course it did. Everything about that other Draenor hurt, whether physically, spiritually, or emotionally.

  
"Eresiine, you have a pet sporebat? I wanna see!" Thank the Light Quendri was there to distract her.

  
"Well, he's not exactly a 'pet' since he isn't truly tame... and I never did get his toxin glands removed." Eresiine winced. "So it's probably for the best that he's... away."

  
"You _still_ haven't? By the naaru, Eres, you said you were going to do that twenty years ago!" Revenis protested.

  
"I just couldn't bring myself to do it. I keep looking at his cute little trusting face and I just... can't."

  
"...Eresiine, I think this is the part where I remind you that you are also a licensed medical clinician in several nations," Tel pointed out.

  
"It's _different_! Patients _give consent_! He's very intelligent, but he's not sentient!"

  
"How do you know?" Quendri asked.

  
"Um. Quendri. She's a priest. She can go inside people's minds, and therefore, find out if there _is_ a mind," Verk explained.

  
"I don't do _that_ without consent either!"

  
"But what about--" Tel started.

  
"PRESENTS. Presents, and then food!"

  
"Thank you, Revenis." Eresiine sighed. "So, I was planning on having the youngest open her gifts first, but due to the... uh... nature... or some of the presents, we're going to have to go out of order." Eresiine sighed and pinched the bridge of her nose. "Marelan, who is the lynx for?"

  
"This would be for Rataalis. Since, uh, we all know you like cats, and..." Marelan started, but he broke off, looking embarrassed.

  
"Saaaay it. We all agreed." Verk leaned in to loudly whisper in his ear.

  
"Cooperating to give gifts is against the rules!" Rataalis protested.

  
"Oh please, have you listened to anything our dear Anchorite has said in the past five minutes? We stopped playing by the rules before we even began," Tel pointed out. "Besides, do you have any idea how difficult it is to bring a live animal over from another continent? Marelan needed assistance with the paperwork; the least Verk and I could do was help out."

  
"Look, it's just, I don't want to be 'that guy,' and --" Marelan held the lynx closer to him as if to protect himself.

  
"Whatever you are going to say, just say it," Rataalis muttered.

  
"We got you a cat because we all know you need more love in your life."

  
"Because clearly, Val isn't cutting it," Tel added. Revenis, who had chosen that exact moment to take a sip from his glass, spluttered on his drink and wiped orange juice off his nose.

  
"How very _thoughtful_ of you," Rataalis said acidly. He turned to Tel. "You're very _lucky_ that Marelan happens to be a friend of mine. For his sake, I'll spare you."

  
" _Ahem_." Eresiine jabbed at Rataalis with her elbow.

  
"... And that Eresiine has also expressly forbidden us from taking up arms against one another while in her home."

  
" _Thank you_ , now moving on, is there a cat carrier?" Eresiine asked.

  
"No," Marelan started.

  
"Then what --"

  
"There is a dog carrier, however. You know. Lynxes. Big." Marelan scratched under the lynx's chin before setting it down, then reached down to pull up a very large carrier. He seemed about to set it on the table, but Verk grabbed onto the bottom of the carrier and refused to let it be set down on top of some of the dishes.

  
"Nooo! Mar, not the orange mush!"

  
"It's _squash_ ," Tel said.

  
"It's orange mush!"

  
"It's orange mush that Quendri and I spent much of the afternoon preparing," Eresiine explained, "so yes, please do not squish the squash." She found herself longing for a third pot of coffee as the three elves moved things around on the table -- including a somewhat miffed lynx -- to make room for the carrier.

  
"So... while I have done some reading on Thalassian lynxes, I would like a bit more information on what caring for one would entail, so please let me know after dinner. And thank you, Marelan. I missed having a pet."

  
"Of course. You're very welcome."

  
"So is it my turn next?" Quendri asked.

  
"Yes, it is, as soon as -- no!" The lynx, who was now free of Marelan, batted Verk's glass off the table. Verk scrambled to catch it, but in the process, she tipped over Marelan, who was still holding onto the handle for the carrier. Marelan flailed a bit, accidentally striking Tel in the back of her head with the carrier. Tel, who had been looking at Quendri, startled, whirled around, and sent a bolt of fire flying roughly in Marelan's direction. Fortunately for Marelan, he hit the floor before the bolt could reach him. Revenis, however, had gotten up to help Verk, and he ended up right in front of the bolt. Revenis was, fortunately, wearing armor specifically made to spread out and lessen the damage from magical attacks, but it still unbalanced him enough that he tripped over Verk's chair, fell, and ended up landing on top of all three blood elves in a clattering and clanking of armor.

  
"Is everyone all right?" Eresiine asked. Quendri was looking on in concern, and Rataalis had buried his face in his hands. Eresiine wasn't sure if he was trying not to laugh or trying not to cry. The lynx, meanwhile, was helping itself to one of the side dishes.

  
"We're good! The glass didn't even break!" Verk called out.

  
"But we'll have to see about my spine," Tel groaned.

  
"Tel, are you all right?" Quendri asked.

  
"She's fine. She's less of a physical entity and more of a collection of spells and spite," Marelan put in.

  
"Marelan? Revenis? What about you?"

  
"I'm fine," Revenis responded.

  
"Your armor is pinching my ear, but other than that, I'm fine."

  
"Oh, uh, sorry about that. Is this better?"

  
"That's worse!"

  
"So, Quendri." Rataalis looked away from the tangled mess of bodies on the floor. "I drew your name. I will admit I wasn't entirely sure what to get you, but..." He tossed the package at her. She caught it easily. "Here you are."

  
"Hm. Feels light. And squishy."

  
"Open it up." Quendri tore into the wrapping paper with the viciousness of a small predator, quickly undoing all Rataalis's careful work.

  
"It's... a hat?" Quendri asked, holding up a dark blue knit beanie with white snowflake designs on it.

  
"And a scarf. And mittens. They all match. I knitted them myself."

  
"The hat looks kind of weird," Quendri commented, as she held the hat up over her head and opened it up with her hands. It didn't quite seem to match her head shape.

  
"I borrowed a pattern from Eresiine, and..." _So that's where those went off to! He could have just asked me!_

  
"And I don't have very many patterns or resources for uh... people without crests or horns." Eresiine winced.

  
"... So I kind of made things up as I went along," Rataalis admitted.

  
"It still fits! ... Kind of." Quendri tried to smooth the hat down on her head, but it flopped down to cover her eyes. "Thank you, Rataalis."

  
"So, the next youngest should be Verkira... Ver, are you okay over there?"

  
"Just peachy," Verk spoke up from somewhere under the table. Eresiine noted that only Tel had freed herself from the pile and returned to her seat.

  
"Do you need help?" Eresiine asked.

  
"Yes, she does. I haven't seen anyone fail this hard at magically putting water back into a glass since Magister Alaniel asked me to lecture the first-year apprentices," Tel said.

  
"I didn't ask for your input! I'm out of practice; shut up!"

  
"Hey, Verk, I got your gift. Rataalis, sir, mind tossing it over to her?" Revenis asked.

  
"I will once you idiots get up off the floor," Rataalis grumbled, as he reached over to pluck the lynx from the table.

  
"But I'm so _comfy_!" Revenis protested.

  
"I'm not. Please move," Marelan grumbled.

  
"All right, fine, I'm moving," Eresiine heard armor clanking, as well as a few 'oof's and 'ow's, and Revenis stood up and walked back to his seat. A few seconds later, Marelan also resumed his seat. Verk, however, did not.

  
"Ver, your drink is probably a lost cause at this point. Get back to the table," Eresiine said.

  
"I refuse to admit defeat!"

  
" _Sigh_. I have to do everything myself, don't I?" Tel shook her head and snapped her fingers. Verk's glass re-appeared on the table, properly filled again.

  
"... Show-off," Verk grumbled, as she climbed back into her chair.

  
"You're welcome."

  
"Here you go," Revenis said, sliding the book over to her. Verk opened her gift with a little bit more care than Quendri had. As soon as the wrapping paper was half off, however, her expression fell.

  
"A _beginner's_ guide to sculpture? Fuck you, Revenis! Everything I make is already a masterpiece!" Verk accused. Eresiine pointedly cleared her throat. When Verk turned to her, Eresiine pointed her chin in Quendri's direction. Verk looked appropriately ashamed. "Ahem. I mean, thank you, Revenis, for the thoughtful gift. I am sure I can use this resource to _enlighten_ my critics."

  
"Are you two _still_ on about the mashed potatoes from the Antorus campaign?" Marelan asked, sounding slightly exasperated.

  
"Oh, no, they've since escalated to include anything even remotely edible that they don't feel like eating at that particular point in time," Tel explained before Eresiine had a chance to.

  
"Anyway, you're _very_ welcome, and I look forward to your new and improved 'masterpieces' finally holding a candle to mine." Revenis gave Verkira a good-natured clap on the shoulder that nearly sent her out of her seat again. She glared at him.

  
"And the next youngest is Revenis. I got you your gift," Eresiine explained, picking up the gift bag she had set down next to her chair before everyone else had gotten settled. She handed it to Rataalis to pass to Revenis.

  
"Oh, gift bag and tissue paper. Fancy. And very lightweight. You didn't sew me another elekk plushie, did you? My old one's still good." Revenis pulled the tissue paper out of the bag and tossed it behind him before lifting the gift out of the bag. "What's this?"

  
"It's a neck pillow," Eresiine explained.

  
"A neck pillow?"

  
"Yes. They're popular among humans and some gnomes."

  
"But it doesn't really... fit... with my pauldrons," Revenis commented, as he tried to put it over his shoulders.

  
"Then take them off. You need to relax more, anyway."

  
" _Eresiine_." Rataalis turned to stare at her, flabbergasted. "I have spent the past sixty years trying to teach him to be a responsible Vindicator, and then _you_ show up and teach him laziness?"

  
"There is an _enormous_ difference between taking time to yourself to relax now and again, and being lazy. One is healthy and to be encouraged. The other is not."

  
"A difference you never seem to have figured out," Verk said, then pretended to cough when Rataalis turned to glare at her.

  
"But have you _looked_ at him? _Listened_ to him?"

  
"Quite frequently, since you two are practically joined at the hip, and you've been insisting on 'protecting' me ever since..." Eresiine winced. She didn't want to say it. "Almost forty years ago."

  
"Then what makes you think he needs to relax?"

  
"The fact that he spends so much time around you, for one," Eresiine muttered.

  
"Oooooooohhhh," Verk, Revenis, and Quendri called out in unison. Rataalis looked momentarily upset, but quickly suppressed it.

  
" _I think we should take this time to appreciate that Eresiine only ever treats Rataalis like that, and not us_ ," Marelan said in Thalassian.

  
" _She does that to Onoras, too, though_ ," Verk pointed out.

  
"Anyway, uh, thanks, Eres. I'll give it a try." Revenis said.

  
"You're welcome. I hope it helps. So, the next youngest would be Tel."

  
"I got your gift," Verk said, passing the small box over to its intended recipient as the rest of the table collectively held their breaths. Eresiine -- and by the looks of it, everyone else as well -- had been hoping that neither Verk nor Tel would draw the other elf's name, since those two had the greatest potential for nastiness.

  
"Thank you. I wonder what it is," Tel said guardedly, as she very carefully pried off the wrapping paper. Eresiine kept looking around to see who was still holding their breaths -- still everyone, it seemed -- as Tel worked on opening the present. Meanwhile, Verk's expression was, for once, unreadable.

  
After what felt like an agonizingly long time, Tel opened the top of the box.

  
"It's... a necklace?" She asked. The table collectively exhaled.

  
"Yes." Tel draped the necklace over her hand and held it up. The necklace seemed to be choker length and was made of finely crafted gold and rubies.

"...Thank you, Verkira. It's exquisite."

  
"Of course. I'd only get you something worthy of _your_ beauty."

  
"With _your_ sense of style, I'm surprised you have such... discerning tastes."

  
"I'm just glad you can properly _appreciate_ it, in spite of your upbringing."

  
"Of course I can, after spending so long _basking_ in your family's _glory_."

  
"Why don't you try it on? I'd _love_ to see how it looks around your neck."

  
"Eresiine, is the necklace cursed?" Quendri asked quietly.

  
"No, I don't think so; this is just some sort of elven social posturing."

  
"Or a mating ritual," Revenis put in. Eresiine couldn't see exactly what happened, but she was pretty sure Verk stomped on his tail. "Ow!"

  
"Ah, but you see, I already _have_ a necklace of that length." Tel tapped her gold-lined wide fabric choker. It was difficult to pick up on, but Eresiine noticed that Tel was beginning to look slightly distressed.

  
"Oh come now, we haven't seen you without it in years. I for one could use a nice reminder of what your neck looks like."

  
" _Fuck you, Verk._ " Tel switched to Thalassian.

  
" _Pfft, you wish_."

  
" _And ruin our "friendship"? I think not_."

  
" _Oh, ruin our friendship? Well, if all it takes to get you off my back is to have you on my back, then count me in._ "

  
" _So that's what you're into? That can be arranged_."

  
Eresiine rubbed her temples. She was really starting to regret learning Thalassian.

  
"Hey, Eresiine? What are they talking about?" Perhaps the only mercy to be found in this situation was that Quendri _didn't_ understand Thalassian.

  
"Uh, nothing important," Eresiine winced as she spoke. Quendri didn't look satisfied.

  
"They're just being idiots, Quendri," Marelan added. He looked supremely uncomfortable. Eresiine supposed she would be too, if she were sitting in between Verk and Tel. It was around that time that the two elves decided to start mixing hand gestures into their conversation, and Revenis, not being completely oblivious, picked up on it.

  
"Get a room, you two!"

  
"They already _have_ one. That's the problem," Marelan said, then turned to address Tel. " _And for the record, you are not allowed to fuck my little sister_."

  
"Way to deny me agency, Mar!" Verk crossed her arms and pouted. "And it doesn't matter, anyway. I don't find you sexually attractive, Tel. At all."

  
"And I'm not attracted to you, either. At all."

  
"Oh my Goddess..." Quendri buried her face in her hands, sounding embarrassed for her two tutors. "Eresiine, where did you even find these two?"

  
"I didn't find them. They found me." Eresiine was not in a forgiving mood, so she figured she'd strike back a bit with brutal honesty. "I met Ver years ago when she chased me down on horseback to interrogate me."

  
"On horseback?" Revenis asked.

  
"She runs very quickly," Verk explained.

  
"And as for Tel... we became acquainted when she accidentally almost killed me on Draenor."

  
"Uh, sorry about that. Though we didn't actually meet in person until I landed in the clinic on one of your days there. I'm not sure if you knew it was me, though."

  
"Oh, I recognized you from Ver's descriptions."

  
"Really? Because knowing Verk, it was something like 'beware the evil old witch, oh and she likes wearing green.' Lots of people fit that description. So what gave it away?" _Probably the handle of Jez's dagger sticking out of you_ , Eresiine thought, but knew better than to breach confidentiality like that.

  
"Oh, you know... things."

  
"Wait, you went to Eres for help? I thought you prided yourself on being independent."

  
"The knife in my back was in one of those hard-to-reach places."

  
"This seems to be a recurring problem for you, Tel," Verk said, mockingly thoughtful.

  
"Yes, no thanks to you and your family."

  
"Are we ready to move on now?" Eresiine asked.

  
"I am," Tel snapped. "The next youngest is Marelan now, right?"

  
"Correct."

  
"I got you your gift!" Quendri said. She seemed about to toss the present over to him, but Eresiine lightly grabbed her arm. Quendri looked at her in confusion. _How to explain "we don't throw things at the visually impaired" without being rude? Or, having some idea what's in there, "we don't throw weapons at friends" without giving away what's in the package?_

  
"We, uh, don't throw things like that in this household." It wasn't the best, but Eresiine would be able to explain things properly to Quendri once dinner was over.

  
"... Okay." Quendri handed the package over to Tel, who handed it to Marelan.

  
"Thank you, Quendri, what is this?" He asked, as he carefully peeled away at the wrapping paper. Verk and Tel looked over his shoulders in eager anticipation, until they realized what it was he was unwrapping.

  
"Oh, no." Tel seemed to be the first to figure it out.

  
"Oh, NO." Verk was only a second behind.

  
"What is it?" Eresiine asked, for Marelan's benefit as much as for her own.

  
"It's a throwing hand axe," Verk explained.

  
"Troll style," Tel added.

  
"I've always loved hand axes! Thank you, Quendri!" Marelan looked genuinely delighted as he examined the handle of the weapon. "Quality craftsmanship, too." The two elves flanking him paled.

  
"OH, NO," Verk, Tel, and Revenis said in unison.

  
"Would someone like to explain to me what the problem is?" Rataalis asked.

  
"We don't want to give the blind guy a throwing weapon?" Revenis suggested.

  
"That's not the problem. That's not the problem _at all_ ," Verk said.

  
"No one should EVER trust one of Shoni's brood with a hand axe," Tel added.

  
"Um. Tel. You know Mar's not _actually_ my big brother, right?"

  
"Oh, of course I know that. But it's no secret just how close your two families were."

  
"It's less of 'our families were close' and more of 'I left home in my thirties and never really looked back'," Mar explained, but his attention was clearly still on the hand axe in front of him as he ran his finger experimentally along the cutting edge of it.

  
"Really? Me too," Tel started.

  
"I'll add that to the very short list of things we have in common, other than both being elves."

  
"So after Mar is Eresiine, right?" Quendri asked.

  
"That would be correct," Eresiine said. Since everyone else had already given a gift, she looked over at Tel, who met her gaze.

  
"Saving the best for last. You're in for a real treat." Tel waved her hand in the air, and a small box appeared in her palm.

  
"I don't know whether I should be worried or not," Eresiine said, holding out her hand.

  
"You shouldn't be worried. Here." Tel whispered something, and the box disappeared from her hand and appeared in Eresiine's outstretched hand.

  
"Show-off," Verk grumbled.

  
Eresiine looked down at the box in her hand. It wasn't wrapped, so all she had to do was open it. After some hesitation, she did.

  
"Earplugs?"

  
" _Enchanted_ earplugs. They'll block out all sound, so you don't have to listen to us when you're trying to sleep."

  
It didn't matter what else had happened. This was the best holiday ever.

**Author's Note:**

> I generally try to keep things T-rated, but 6 out of 10 of my friends and readers wanted this piece to be M-rated. I'm not sure I like my writing with the filters off, but it was a fun exercise.
> 
> Thank you for reading!
> 
> Note: Orlaney and Valuora are a friend's OCs, not mine.


End file.
